GoFundMe Scam: The Homeless Veteran Johnny Bobbitt Story

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure set up a GoFundMe page late last year to help raise funds for homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt, raising a little over $400,000.

Bobbitt sued the couple in August, accusing them of misusing the funds.

Last week, all three have been charged of conspiring together in a “get-rich-quick” scheme.

A New Jersey couple, Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure started a GoFundMe campaign in late 2017 for homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt.

The GoFundMe story went viral, touching the hearts of around 14,000 people and raising over $400,000.

Their story: Bobbit unselfishly spent his last $20 to buy McClure gas when she ran out on a Philadelphia interstate. McClure, 28, and her boyfriend, D’Amico, 39, set up the GoFundMe page to thank him so he can buy a truck, have a place to stay and find a job.

Now, the three are accused of allegedly conspiring with each other to come up with a false story to earn GoFundMe donations, NBC 10 Philadelphia reported. They have been charged with theft and conspiracy offenses for the “get-rich-quick” scheme.

On Wednesday, D’Amico and McClure turned themselves in to Burlington County prosecutors, according to an NBC source. But there is no report whether Bobbitt had also turned himself in.

Their story started to fall apart when Bobbitt accused the couple of misusing the funds, saying that the GoFundMe money was used as a “personal piggy bank.” In August, the veteran sued the couple over the funds.

The couple initially denied Bobbitt’s accusation, claiming they withheld the money for Bobbitt’s own good. According to the couple, Bobbitt gave some money to his relatives and spend a lot on drugs. They said he received about $75,000 from the funds which was used to purchase a camper and SUV.

“They went on shopping sprees,” Bobbitt’s attorney, Jacqueline Promislo, told The New York Post “[Bobbitt] tells me they had a Louis Vuitton bag and Chanel sunglasses, a new iPhone 10.”

In September, the police had raided the couple’s home, confiscating a brand-new BMW, jewelry and cash.

The couple’s lawyer, Ernest Badway, said in court in September that Bobbitt had received about $200,000 from the funds. But Superior Court Judge Paula Dow said Badway indicated he was “misadvised” by his clients and that later the court learned there was no money left, NBC reported.

Badway gave no comment to NBC on Thursday. Bobbitt’s lawyers, Chris Fallon and Jacqueline Promislo, did not reply immediately when Fox News emailed them early Thursday.